


Bite Me

by tegomaki



Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: AU, Action, Alternate Universe - College/University, Artist Park Jinyoung | Jr., Eventual Smut, Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, M/M, New York City, Romance, Vampire Im Jaebum | JB, student park jinyoung
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2018-12-08 17:32:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11651376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tegomaki/pseuds/tegomaki
Summary: "You are absolutely irresistible... Now, do not take that the wrong way. It's not as if you're exceptionally good looking; I don't want your little human head swelling up on me. It's your scent that I find intoxicating..." Jaebum took a deep breath and licked his lips. "Your blood has the robust aroma of a young man that has lived in a bubble for his entire life."For a moment Jinyoung couldn't even feel offended. He was blushing too hard to even begin to sense the anger bubbling up in his stomach and just waiting to erupt.ORAfter four uneventful years living the life of an art major, Jinyoung thought he was pretty well adjusted. Jaebum proved him wrong without lifting a single finger. Control was an illusion; life had a funny way of catching up him and rewriting itself just when he thought that he was in the clear.ORthe vampire Jaebum fic that no one asked for





	1. In Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all :-) This is my first multi-chapter JJP fic and my first multi-chapter fic in a long time too. Sorry if I'm a bit rusty when it comes to longer fics lmao. I've been sitting on this unfinished piece of work for a while but I decided that I should just fuck it and start posting it now because JJP COMEBACK IMA BUST A NUT and why not. I've been tryna be more confident in my writing and I'm actually performing at the NYC poetry festival tomorrow asdfgh I'm super nervous y'all. ANYWAY please show me some love lmao and more importantly constructive criticism!
> 
> ps: this is inspired by an ancient soul eater oneshot from the collection "100 Souls 100 Moments" (fanfiction.net) )Y'all should read it I still love it after years

It was a bit odd seeing himself from the third person, and Jinyoung wondered if that was really how he appeared to other people. He hoped so, because from where he was standing his coat hugged his slim form and his legs looked miles long. His senses still functioned properly if not even more heightened in this state. He still felt the way wind stung his reddening cheeks and brought tears to his eyes. He heard tires grinding against pavement as the occasional car drove past him, but it’s almost as if he was glitching, his soul always four steps behind his physical body and he watched himself, judging every move.

 

It never happened in the same place twice. Jinyoung pivoted around in place, examining his surroundings and trying to piece everything together. He couldn’t always figure out where he was, but it was always somewhere familiar. Sometimes he’d end up somewhere seemingly insignificant- a street corner he’s passed by all but once or a building he’d glanced inside as he walked around the city. Sometimes he was back in the suburbs- his childhood home or the park where he used to play growing up. He squinted and pulled his glasses on around the tall bridge of his nose, breathing a sigh of relief when he realized that on this particular night he happened to be under a street lamp on the corner of 129th and Lenox. It was almost pitch black out; he could barely even make out the lettering on the storefront of the coffee shop he stopped by every morning. He was relatively close to home but hesitated before starting for his apartment. He was never quite sure what he’s supposed to do in these dreams. Where was he supposed to go? Was he supposed to meet anyone? Why was he here?

 

Jinyoung shuddered when the street lamp suddenly started to rapidly flicker on and off, and he took this as a sign to start walking away. He didn’t make it very far down 129th before the familiar feelings started to creep up his spine. Something about the night air made Jinyoung feel exposed, naked even through layers of winter clothing like someone or something was watching him. Jinyoung tried to ground himself, reading every storefront sign he passed by or focusing on stepping over lines and cracks in the sidewalk, but he knew by then that nothing he tried ever worked. Even though he should be able to, he couldn’t feel the cold stinging his cheeks anymore, he couldn’t feel the bass shaking the ground from the music of the party he walked by, he couldn’t even hear the footsteps of the few people walking past him every now and then. His sight started to fail him too; everything blurred to jet black and he could no longer tell where the ground ended and where everything else began.

 

His senses faded away one by one until eventually all he could feel was a raging heat radiating from the pulse point on his neck despite the frigid air that should’ve been biting at the exposed skin on his body. A fire ran through Jinyoung’s body, sweat soaking through impossibly thick layers of clothing and making his usually impeccably styled comma bangs stick to his forehead. Jinyoung just fisted his hands deep into the pockets of his long pea coat, suddenly realizing that his fingernails had been painlessly pressing into his palms deep enough to make blood drip from little crescent moon shapes in his flesh. No matter what the circumstances were, the dreams always ended the same way. Jinyoung always started bleeding, and then everything would fade to black. With his eyes half lidded and pupils blown way out of proportion, his legs started to feel heavier and heavier. A pair of red eyes glowed in the distance like rubies catching the light, and all Jinyoung wanted to do was to look away, to turn back. It was too late though; there was no backward or forward, no left or right. He always woke up at this part, right before the body that the eyes belonged to could materialize out of the darkness.

 

Jinyoung woke up with a start, panting as the mellow mid morning sunlight filtered through the blinds and illuminated the thick sheen of sweat all over his face. Though his body showed signs of panic, Jinyoung convinced himself that he was ok and he waited for his body to catch up with his mind. Repeatedly reassuring himself that he was safe, Jinyoung looked down at his body for confirmation. He was ok; he was still the same Park Jinyoung he was when he went to sleep: 21 years old, a broke college student, and a complete mess, not that anyone else would ever be able to tell simply by looking at him. Looking around his room, he saw that he was still in his ratty one bedroom apartment in Harlem. He was still alone; he had been for years now with practically no one to rely on or take care of him. Dirty clothes, sketchbooks, and scrap pieces of paper were still all over the floor. Nothing had changed and there wasn’t anything or anyone in his room that shouldn’t be there. The dream wasn’t anything new either; he’d been having this same one for the past four years.

 

While he used to wake up screaming bloody murder and flailing his arms around, he’d learned to control his emotions. The dreams had started to become even more frequent after he moved to New York City to study on a full scholarship, but he didn’t mind it so much anymore. He supposed it was just a weird quirk he has to live with; everyone has one or two of those, though his best friend Yugyeom who also happened to be one of his only friends disagreed. Jinyoung rolled his eyes thinking of the amount of times Yugyeom has tried to get him to see a professional, not sure how that would even help him. It didn’t mean anything to Jinyoung, Yugyeom just thought that being a psych major gave him a free pass to psychoanalyze every single miniscule detail of his life. What would a shrink even tell him that he didn’t already know? In his opinion, there wasn’t really much to the dream. He showed up in a random place and walked until a pair of big red eyes appear. He never saw anything like them in his life, and he doubted that he ever would. They weren’t significant to him in any way, shape, or form. Once again, Jinyoung decided to leave the dream behind and get on with his day.

 

Jinyoung glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table. It was only six and his first class wasn’t until noon, but he got up anyway knowing that he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again. He could just kill time in one of the studios on campus before class. Jinyoung groaned as he started to sit up; his white t-shirt was translucent with sweat and his hair was matted down to his head. He peeled his nearly sweat soaked comforter and threw it towards the hamper from his bed. Jinyoung rolled his eyes when he missed completely but made no move to pick it up from the floor. Reaching back behind his neck, he pinched the collar of his t-shirt and pulled it off. Brisk morning air instantly hit Jinyoung’s milky, smooth skin and soothed the burning sensation that his dream had caused. Jinyoung finally got up from from his bed and stripped himself of the last of his clothing as he headed to the bathroom to turn the knobs of the shower until the steam started to fill the bathroom and fog up the mirrors.

 

Jinyoung let a small moan slip past his lips as he stepped into the warm spray of the shower. The warm water hit his shoulders as he leaned against the cracked tiles for a while. The knots all over his body started to loosen as a comfortable warmth enveloped him and replaced the burning heat he’d felt earlier; that past week had really taken a toll on him. He barely slept, and the precious few hours that he did get were cut short by that same dream more often than not. Working as a part time assistant to curators at the Metropolitan Museum of Art usually wasn’t too demanding and Jinyoung felt extremely lucky to have found a job related to his interests while getting his fine arts degree, but things had been rough lately.

 

Last week, they finally opened a collection that his bosses had been curating for months. The gallery was open every night all week long. On top of the usual task of being everyone’s errand boy, Jinyoung had to stay to serve champagne to pretentious people with far too much money and mingle with them until the gallery closed up late at night. He’d gotten home past midnight nearly all week. That wasn’t the problem though, Jinyoung had no problem entertaining the idiotic ramblings of people that didn’t actually know much about art as they’d like people to believe, simply nodding his head and flirting just the right amount to keep donors entertained.

 

The Problem was a certain recurring and valued (read: loaded) donor attending one evening, and he’d made it more than clear over the past two years that he has a bit of a thing for Jinyoung. Jinyoung shuddered as if he could still feel his breath that was laced with the smell of one too many glasses of merlot. He scrubbed at his skin especially hard at the thinks of the way the man’s hands had lingered on his back. It wasn’t like he could protest when he needed to keep his job to keep up the relatively smooth albeit boring routine he had going on in life, but he couldn’t lie to himself and say that he hasn’t daydreamed about drop kicking him off of the roof.

 

Jinyoung took his time, only stepping out once the water began to run cold. He never spent too much time picking out his clothes, simply pulling out a cable knit sweater and a worn out pair of blue jeans before quickly grabbing a sketchbook and his messenger bag from the floor. Grudgingly, Jinyoung finally left his apartment building.

 

As soon as he went out, he put his headphones on and pressed shuffle. The constant drone of the high hat at the opening of “Five Years” drilled into his head and his thoughts started pouring out faster than he could even process them. _The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars_ had been one of his mother’s favorite albums, but he rarely even listened to it anymore. Maybe there was still some lingering strangeness from the old dream that he’d had earlier, but Jinyoung couldn’t help but think about how curiously time had seemed to pass these past few years. The dust had settled suspiciously fast after his universe had all but imploded a few years ago, his routine falling back to place with barely a hiccup.

 

“Watch where you’re going!”

 

Jinyoung’s consciousness snapped back to reality like a rubber band. He hated when he got like this, crammed too far into his own head to even see what mess he was about to walk right in the middle of, and it seemed to be happening more and more often.

 

Jinyoung’s steps skidded to a stop a few feet short of blindingly yellow police tape sectioning off the entrance to one of the alleyways that Jinyoung often walked through as a shortcut. Jinyoung swore that nothing had seemed out of the ordinary when he’d walked to school here yesterday morning, his stomach churning at the thought of an alternate future where he was the one caught up in the middle of this crime scene. Policemen and detectives were still crowded around the entrance of the alley. Jinyoung caught a glimpse of the forensics team digging through the trash for god knows what.

 

Jinyoung saw just what as dun, spider vein laced, severed body parts that no longer looked like they had once belonged to a human being (or multiple human beings for that matter) were hauled to an NYPD truck. Jinyoung couldn’t stop gaping at the scene before him, frozen in place by an invisible force. Someone would have to be blind to miss the scene and suddenly Jinyoung was suddenly awfully embarrassed that he’d almost done just that. He quickly turned away and headed for the subway in the other direction before he caved into himself and became a black hole of shame.

 

This was one of the things that Jinyoung would never get used to. The worst thing that ever happened in his small town was the time Mrs. Kim organized a search party for Yugyeom one night when he hadn’t come home at 7 o’clock sharp as he usually did. It turns out he’d just fallen asleep under a tree while reading. Jinyoung would never forget the words “oh fuck” practically written all over Yugs’ mortified face when they’d finally found him.

 

The city had never quite suited him, Jinyoung always a permanent step behind, slightly delayed much in the same fashion that the N train only seems to pass through the station once an hour after 5 o’clock. It wasn’t exactly that he was eternally fated to be side eyed by natives and be called a tourist, walking on the wrong side of the sidewalk and always waiting for the light to signal walk- no. He stuck out the way a peony would among a field of roses, being just similar enough to blend in. He was well adjusted; his eyes were sharp enough to avoid further questioning but he still subconsciously flinched when the subway passed while he was standing on the yellow edge of the platform, not enough for anyone to notice. It was hard to believe that Terrytown was in the same universe as New York City, much less the same state.

 

Jinyoung headed to the art building at the other end of the campus as he usually did. October was nearing its end, but the air still didn’t have much of the bite that it should’ve had this time of year. The green area in the middle of the campus was full of warm reds, yellows, and oranges falling from the trees around him. The scenery almost made him stop, sit down against a tree, and draw idly in his sketchbook for a while, but Jinyoung forced himself keep walking. He still hadn’t settled on a theme for his senior project and although it was still only halfway through the first semester, time had a way of sneaking up on him and he didn’t want to end up rushing.

 

It was a good thing his professor had a soft spot for him and let him use the studios here as he pleased. Being a TA had its perks; the master key to all the studio spaces in the art building sat next to Jinyoung’s own apartment keys. Natural light from huge windows spilled into the room and the warmth reached Jinyoung all the way down to his bones. He usually felt more comfortable with a paintbrush in his hands, muscle memory kicking in as soon as Jinyoung started and paint glided smoothly across canvas.

 

Lately, the only thing that Jinyoung had been feeling in the studios was frustration. His professor saw promise in him since freshman year, incessantly encouraging him to let himself go. Jinyoung thought he might have an inkling of what that meant but even then, he wasn’t sure how to go about following through with it. Jinyoung shifted uncomfortably at the thought of bearing his soul to countless people. As much as he tried to be open, his friends were often left in the dark, wondering what would have been said if Jinyoung hadn’t cut his own thought short or what his face might’ve looked like if he didn’t always turn away whenever tears began to well in his eyes.

 

Without realizing it, hours slipped right through Jinyoung’s fingers, and he was left in the same condition he was in when he entered the studio. There were only 20 minutes left until his class started. There was nothing on the canvas to show for the time he spent there and curses echoed through the large, open room as Jinyoung scolded himself. Jinyoung stared at his canvas for a bit longer as if something would appear on it if he stared for long enough. Eventually he accepted his failure, the chair he was sitting on grinding against the floor as Jinyoung stood up harshly and began to pack up and head to sociology 101.

 

If he had it his way, he wouldn’t be taking a sociology class. In fact, he would never even step foot in the science building. He was a fine arts major; he had no reason to be taking a science class, but all of a sudden he was told that he needed the credit to graduate. To Jinyoung, most of the things in his overpriced textbook were blatantly obvious to people that actually pay attention to the world around them, and being a bisexual second generation Korean American meant that he was all too familiar with society’s binaries. The class was a hassle more than anything. Jinyoung could ace the course easily like he’d done through all of high school. He might’ve ended up in the arts, but he was at the top of his class academically too. It was the only reason he was able to get a scholarship and study in the city.

As much as Jinyoung hated the class, it did have a single redeeming quality. It, or rather he, was the first thing Jinyoung saw when he walked into the large, open lecture hall. Jinyoung had never seen him around before this year, and whenever Jinyoung asked around, no one seemed to know anything about him. Yes, maybe it was cliche to pine over the mysterious guy in class, and maybe it made Jinyoung hate himself just a little bit, but he was just so awfully hot.

 

Jaebum was always the first person to get to class; he got there even before Jinyoung who was always at least 10 minutes early. Jinyoung never would have noticed him if he weren’t so early to all of his classes. Jaebum sat tucked away in the furthest corner in the back of the room, almost as if he wanted to blend into the wall next to him though Jinyoung wasn’t really sure why as the man was undeniably gorgeous. His eyes were thin but cat like and alluring, only adding to his sensual appearance. Two marks sat on his heavily hooded eyelid right above his left eye and his ears were decorated with piercings. Smooth, jet black hair cut in choppy bangs that he sometimes gelled back clashed with alabaster skin just a few shades short of being unhealthily pale. A thick leather jacket hugged his chest and biceps, and Jinyoung recognized the logo underneath on his t-shirt from time spent window shopping at the high end stores on fifth avenue.

 

Jinyoung was always tempted to go sit next to him, but he never went through with it, instead opting for the next best thing and sitting in the same row all the way in the back of the room. Even as everyone started to file in, Jinyoung’s eyes stayed trained on the other man.

 

This particular professor’s voice sounded like an oboe that only plays a single note. At a certain point of every lecture, Jinyoung always considered stabbing himself with his pen just to have an excuse to get out of class. Jinyoung’s eyes got lost in the sea of people sitting in front of him. Everyone looked the same all the way from the back and it wasn’t doing anything to help Jinyoung focus. He mostly just tried to keep his head up by staring at the clock hung at the front of the room, but he wasn’t having much success. Jinyoung’s head drooped down once again, groaning as his neck strained from the force. Sitting in this class for two hours was like the emotional equivalent of watching paint dry.

 

Jinyoung perked up slightly when the person in front of him suddenly turned around to pass him the sign in sheet for attendance. After he wrote down his wispy, delicate signature next to his printed name, he saw that there was only one name with a blank space next to it left on the sheet: Im Jaebum. There was no one sitting in between him and Jaebum across the room. Rather than passing it back to the row in front of him and having them send it down, Jinyoung took a deep breath and walked over to Jaebum himself.

 

Unlike most of the people in this class, Jaebum seemed to be immersed in the lecture, his eyes actually following the professor pacing back and forth as she spoke. A small noise bubbled up from Jinyoung’s throat, and everything that he really wanted to say got caught in his lungs. It wasn’t like Jinyoung was the type of person to be easily intimidated. While he generally kept to himself it wasn’t like he was shy or anything like that; it was mostly because he didn’t really care enough to talk to anyone. Maybe Jaebum wasn’t most people though, because it felt like a single look from those sharp eyes of his could cut Jinyoung to ribbons.

 

At a loss for words for once, Jinyoung settled for softly placing the sheet down on his desk. Jaebum didn’t say anything or even look up. He didn’t expect anything more from the encounter anyway, but that didn’t stop Jinyoung from side eying him with irritation as he walked back to his seat. Jaebum hadn’t spoken a single word in this class, and Jinyoung often wondered what he must sound like. All of their interactions had stopped at this point, a glass ceiling keeping Jinyoung from initiating anything more. Jaebum: 8, Jinyoung: 0, not that Jinyoung had been keeping count of the amount of times they’d “interacted” or anything ridiculous like that.

 

A loud boom reverberated through the room when the professor slammed a textbook down on her desk. Jinyoung looked away from Jaebum and turned his attention to the front of the room.

 

“Now that I have the attention of everyone that’s been asleep for the past three hours, I have an announcement to make.” Jinyoung rolled his eyes, knowing that he was one of the said people that was asleep for the greater part of three hours.

 

“I know that you all have midterms right now, including our midterm next Thursday, but I wanted to talk to all of you about a project.” A collective groan filled the entire lecture hall. The professor continued unfazed, “Don’t worry yourselves too much, It won’t be due until the last week of the semester. I just wanted all of you to know in advance. I’ve already put the rubric up online, but by the next time we meet I want everyone here to be in a group of two or three. I also-”

 

The rest of her words got lost in space on the way to Jinyoung’s ears; he could always look at the assignment online himself. Jinyoung would much rather complete the project alone without anyone to hold him back or be deadweight. Class had finally ended, but this sudden development tainted the feeling of sweet release from boredom and left him feeling even worse. Suddenly, Jinyoung’s eyes flickered to Jaebum who was already halfway out of the door. Jinyoung didn’t know anyone in this class, and he knew that Jaebum sure as hell didn’t either. He was quiet, but he couldn’t be all that bad. It was decided: Thursday would finally be the day that Jinyoung talked to Im Jaebum.

 

\------------------

 

Jinyoung struggled to keep his eyes open as he finally got around to doing the assigned readings that had piled up over the past few weeks. He blinked hard and shook his head roughly in an attempt to wake himself up for the umpteenth time. As much as Jinyoung hated to admit it, he was completely and utterly overwhelmed.

 

When Jackson got to the extensive paper jungle of a library available to them at the university, Jinyoung was already sitting down at their usual table in a secluded corner. Jackson studied him for a moment before approaching him. His bushy brows were furrowed as he went through the pages of some textbook so rapidly that Jackson wondered how he even managed to retain any of the information. Jinyoung looked back when Jackson coughed behind him.

 

“How long have you been here?” Jackson broke the silence as he pulled a chair out next to his friend and sat himself down leaning back and spreading his legs out under the table.

 

“A couple of hours,” Jinyoung replied and looked up from his textbook for a moment to look at Jackson’s unmistakable bleached blonde head and smiled before immediately returning his eyes to the paragraph he’d just started.

 

“Yah! A couple of hours?!” Jackson yelled as if he wasn't already used to Jinyoung's habits after three years. Jackson ignored the shush that came from a couple of bookcases away. He’d always been a little louder than most people, from his voice and almost obnoxiously bright blond hair to his sexuality and following exploits.

 

Jinyoung’s stubborn dedication never failed to amaze and amuse Jackson within the two years that they’d known each other. They’d met in a drama class during their freshman year. At the time, Jinyoung was constantly catching Jackson looking at him from across the room, and the blond pounced on every chance he had to partner up with him during exercises. Jinyoung usually isn’t one for extroverts, but Jackson is an exception. At first, Jinyoung had only dealt with him because of the sheer amount of persistence he had. Jackson grew on him though, and he’d never say it but he practically thought that the sun shined out of his ass.

 

“What, are you afraid of losing those .5 points?” Jackson teased him.

 

“Well, some of us actually wanna graduate. We can’t all live on the wild side, getting caught balls deep in Professor Jung’s daughter.” Jinyoung smirked at Jackson, knowing exactly which buttons to push.

 

A bright red blush appeared on Jackson’s face at the thought of the cute junior he’d met sophomore year. “It was one time ok! He still loves me by the way. At least I actually get some.”

 

Jinyoung completely ignored the topic of his dead love life, not that it had ever been alive to begin with. He’d rather not have Jackson try to set him up again. Instead Jinyoung returned to the comfortable topic of school.

 

“And besides, I have to maintain my grades if I wanna keep my scholarship. Maybe you should try it.” Jinyoung deadpanned without looking away from his paper and the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.

 

“Hey! Yugyeom and I try really hard ok!” Jackson exclaimed, but he realized a second too late that he’d made a fatal misstep by letting the tall boy’s name slip past his lips.

 

“Jacks, I didn’t even mention Yugyeom,” Jinyoung side eyed him knowingly and smirked. Jackson looked away from Jinyoung and rested his head in his crossed arms resting on the table, not wanting the his face to betray him. Sometimes Jinyoung thought that introducing the two may have been the biggest mistake he’d ever made. One little shit in his life had already been one too many, and the amount of hangovers he’d had to nurse them through this past semester was so not worth all of their love and affection, or so Jinyoung told them. “At least Gyeom has an excuse; he's still a sophomore with party fever. What’s yours? Hmm?” Jinyoung laughed.

 

“Actually, I happen to have fencing practice today,” Jackson stated matter of factly. “Some of us actually have to keep their athletic scholarship.” He looked back at Jinyoung, stretching his neck towards him and raising his eyebrows in a silent challenge thinking he’s in the clear.

 

“And after practice? Who invited you _this_ time?”

 

Jackson went bright red as he returned his face deep into the crook of his elbow and mumbled a muffled response that sounded vaguely like “Mark.”

 

Jinyoung bore his pearly white teeth in a full on smile at Jackson’s chagrin. Jackson and Mark have been circling each other in some sickeningly sweet, sexually charged dance since their freshman year. As cute as they were, Jinyoung was personally ready to puke at amount of the prolonged touches, glances when they thought the other wasn’t looking, and the constant hangouts that weren’t dates but were basically dates.

 

“Explain to me again why you haven’t asked him out yet,” Jinyoung stated as if it was the most obvious course of action in the world. He wasn’t not wrong, and constantly giving advice that wasn’t actually being considered was getting pretty tiring. Jinyoung absolutely hated that.

 

“It’s not like that, ok?! Mark isn’t even interested in me; he’s been eyeing that one girl Amber. They’re both from L.A. and they just seem so close...” Jackson sounded like every word he was saying ate away at his soul little by little, but he laughed it off while finally starting to take his Korean workbook out of his bag.

 

“First of all, Amber swings the other way and you’re an idiot. Second of all, I’m 99% sure Mark is like in love with you. You’ve been at it for three years... I mean maybe you two will finally get lucky tonight.” Jinyoung wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Jackson who was growing more and more red by the second. “Does it have to be on the Wednesday of midterms though?” Jinyoung’s tone was suddenly lightly laced with concern.

 

“I’ll be fine,” Jackson assured him. “I took two of mine today, and I just have one more on Friday. I have all week to study.” Jinyoung seemed satisfied with his answer and went back to burying his nose in his own book.

 

Jinyoung finished the reading a few minutes later and kept the notes that he’d taken out to start writing an outline for his term paper. He took his laptop out, a perk of the honors program that he wouldn’t have been able to afford otherwise, and started to type furiously. Although he didn’t have to, Jinyoung rushed. The term was only halfway through and it wasn’t as if he really had anywhere to return to over the break anyway. His home wasn’t really his anymore.

 

Jinyoung just kept going, the only sound being the click clack of the keyboard as he typed. The silence didn’t last too long, as Jackson inevitably started to get bored. Jinyoung saw him moving out of the corner of his eye but did nothing to stop Jackson from moving his hand in slow motion and poking him on his upper arm. Jinyoung made a duck face towards him and poked him back on the cheek. The playful banter that Jackson pulled him into effortly was something he’d never admit that he enjoyed, though it showed on his face anyway.

 

Jackson reached for Jinyoung’s side knowing how ticklish the raven haired boy was there. The sound of a chair scraping against the floor echoed through the library as Jinyoung stood up abruptly.

 

“Jackson!” he half whispered and half yelled. No sound actually came from Jackson as he laughed and his eyes started watering. Usually he’d never let Jackson off without at least enacting his revenge through flicks and indian burns, but his mind was otherwise preoccupied with thoughts of the ghost of lecture hall 167. It occurred to Jinyoung that Jackson must know something about him; he’s talked to everyone on the expansive campus at least once. Jaebum was quiet but there was no way he could have managed to elude Jackson.

 

“Do you know an Im-”

 

“Hyunsik?” Jackson cut in.

 

“Not that one,” Jinyoung rolled his eyes. “Jaebum.”

 

Jackson thought about it for longer than he’d usually have to but perked up suddenly.  Finally, some hope to unravel the mystery of Im Jaebum.

 

“Well, he’s never really spoken to me but I  do know he’s in Jihoon’s composition class.”

 

The new development sent Jinyoung’s mind to work, of course Jaebum just had to be a music major, as if he couldn’t get any more chic than he already was. Maybe he was a pianist; Jinyoung pictured his stubby but delicate fingers floating effortlessly across ivory keys. He could also be a guitarist and Jinyoung wouldn’t mind that one bit either, imagining the feeling of calloused fingertips grazing his soft skin. The possibilities were endless.

 

“Why do you ask?”

 

“Nothing. We just share a class.” Jinyoung hoped his cool tone was enough to deflect Jackson’s interrogation. Of course, Jackson being Jackson, this didn’t work.

 

“He’s hot,” Jackson smirked.

 

“I guess,” Jinyoung averted his eyes from Jackson’s gaze as his peachy cheeks turned the color of cherries.

 

The rest of their time passed in comfortable silence and the occasional whisper, and as it neared seven o’clock rain drops started to appear on the windows and create a pitter patter noise that echoed through the entire library. His hands curled into fists and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the sound.

 

“Hey…” Jackson nudged him softly. “I gotta go. Practice starts in a few. Are you gonna be here for much longer? I can give you a ride home later.”

 

Jinyoung looked out at the rain now assaulting the library windows. “N-no,” Jinyoung stuttered. There’s no way in hell that he’ll even step foot in a car while it was raining like this. “I’ll take the subway, it’s ok. Thanks Jacks,” Jinyoung said a little bit more calmly.  

 

Standing up, Jackson leaned down and gave him a quick one armed hug. “See you tomorrow. Be careful, yeah? You know things have been a little rough on the streets lately.”

 

“Yeah,” Jinyoung agreed and smiled briefly. At this Jackson finally picked up his back and started walking away. “Text me when you get home! Gotta make sure your dumb ass hasn't gone and gotten himself in trouble.” Jinyoung suddenly called after him before he got too far.

 

Jackson didn't stop walking as he turned to face Jinyoung again. “Goodbye, Jinyoung,” Jackson laughs and said in a sing song voice.

 

The library felt emptier without Jackson or Yugyeom there. He saw familiar faces from his classes, some that he even had small conversations with from time to time, but there was no one he’d actually like to sit with. While his odd blend of warmth and wit fared well with everyone that he met, he didn't have much time for anyone. He was pretty sure the only reason Yugyeom and Jackson were still in his life was because of their own idiotic persistence.

 

Without interruptions, minutes and seconds collected into hours like drops of water from a leaking faucet. Jinyoung rubbed at the bags under his eyes that usually made him look more youthful, but now they were tinged purple with exhaustion. His eyelashes fluttered, struggling to keep his eyes open until finally he slowly slumped down in his chair and rested his upper body on the table.

\------

 

Jinyoung opened his eyes groggily as if his eyelids were weighed down with lead. Almost everything was dark around him, and he momentarily forgot where he was. His laptop still sat open in front of him, illuminating his soft features and making him blink hard a few times as his eyes readjusted to the light. Jinyoung’s eyes scanned his mostly completed term paper in front him, it had been a productive day afterall. He sat up with a start when he remembered where he was. The comfortable silence of the library was gone, replaced by something more eerie, not that Jinyoung really minded.

 

“Shit…” Jinyoung whispered even though the library was deserted. His eyes flickered to the corner of his laptop’s screen and widened when he saw that it was already past midnight. Jinyoung continued to mumble curses to himself, wondering how had he passed out for so long. No one had bothered to wake him up? Jinyoung’s eyes rolled just thinking about it. Everyone must have left hours ago, and he thought about calling Jackson for a second, but he and Yugyeom were probably still at that party right about now. They could go pretty hard, sometimes they didn’t bother to come home, but that was a problem for future Jinyoung. For now, he thought about getting to his apartment. The trains should still be running, albeit on a bit of an annoying schedule because of the time. He would manage; he always did.

 

He slammed his laptop shut and unceremoniously shoved all of his notes and books into his bag, too tired to care about anything but getting home. Hopefully, one of the back exits that people use to light up was still open. Jinyoung didn’t have a second thought about walking through the ancient, almost pitch black building on his own. He supposed he didn’t really care about those sort of things. Finally he got up, pushed his chair in, and started for home.The library door creaked shut as Jinyoung exited.

 

His low cut docs glided across the empty hallways, squeaking against the floor occasionally. He passed through the far left side of the building where full wall windows covered almost the entire length of the hallway letting the moonlight spill into it’s length. The muntins separating the window panes left shadows flickering across his smooth, milky skin as he walked. It was beautiful out that night; the moon was nearly full and the sky was completely clear. The only things missing were the stars; that was one thing he did miss about home. Jinyoung breathed a sigh of relief that materialized into fog in the crisp winter air as one of the back exits opened for him.

 

It was midnight on a weekday, but in the city there were still a few people lingering on the streets, some of them stumbling home and others just walking aimlessly. He avoided their gazes and walked to the eighth street station just a few blocks away at a brisk pace. A peculiar yet  familiar feeling creeped up Jinyoung’s spine, but he blamed the cold and just shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. His fingertips tingled and felt fuzzy as if he was an image on a television screen breaking up. Jinyoung wondered if there were weights in his shoes making him drag his feet across the pavement and barely stay upright with every step as he approached the subway station. The cold metal railing of the stairs leading down to the station stings as he gripped onto it for dear life.

 

The station was nearly abandoned as Jinyoung swiped his metrocard and went through the turnstile to the Queens bound tracks. He looked around for a seat as the express train passed through the station on the middle track. Even after especially long shifts at work, he wasn’t usually out this late. It wasn’t as if Jinyoung was scared or anything. He definitely thought he could handle himself, though whether that was true or not was debatable. He didn’t know the city too well; he would never know it the way a native like Jackson did, and he didn’t exactly have much time to walk around. Still, Jackson liked to drag him around whenever he could. Rainbow bagels were way too overpriced, but it was the adventure that counted. They’ve even gone to the pride parade together for the past three years; Jinyoung actually looked forward to it every year, and he couldn’t wait to bring Yugyeom along for the first time as well when he’d come to the city to study too. Tarrytown, New York is far from the South, but even there Jinyoung and Yugyeom never felt comfortable being openly bisexual.

 

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the low rumbling of the R train approaching the station. Jinyoung got up and walked to the very edge of the platform as the train stopped, and he lets his bangs blow around his face, too tired to fix them. Jinyoung stepped onto the train trying to be mindful of the space in between it the platform. Even though there was only one stop to go until he had to transfer to the 4 or 5 train, he sat down. This particular subway car was empty, but Jinyoung could see a couple of people in the car next to him. Jinyoung tried to stay awake and alert, reading the advertisements and scheduled service changes plastered across the train to give his mind something to focus on. His head snapped back up whenever it started to droop dangerously low.

 

After what felt like 5 seconds passed, a mechanical voice announced, “This is 14th Street-Union Square. The next stop is 23rd Street.” Jinyoung grabbed his bag and walked out of the train. The 14th Street station was an unnecessarily complicated labyrinth, much to Jinyoung’s dismay. People needed to go through passageways, escalators, and stairways before they could transfer to the next train. It was late, but at least that meant that the 4 train wasn’t packed like a can of sardines for once. Time passed by like he was inside a dream; one second he was getting on the train and the next he was leaving the station. It was a bit of a walk to his apartment, but he didn't want to wait for the buses running on the night schedule, so he started walking. Jinyoung stopped by the entrance of an alleyway and considered going through it to save time. Shrugging, he made his way down the grimy, narrow path.

 

He reached the middle of the alley when he heard grunting noises from behind him and he looked over his shoulder to see what it was. Jinyoung’s eyes widened when he saw that the sound was coming from two men fighting at the end of the alley where he had entered. All he could make out in the dark were their silhouettes. One of them was taller and leaner, while the other one was short and burly. It wasn't so much of a fight, Jinyoung realized, as the taller of the two relentlessly punched the other into the red brick wall of the building. Jinyoung saw rivers of blood glisten on the short man’s face that was too distorted with blood and swollen cuts to be recognizable at that point. A particularly hard punch landed on his cheek and the sound of bone cracking knocked Jinyoung out of his daze. His eyes grew to the size of the moon and he gasped audibly enough to catch attention, the tall man’s head snapping in his direction. His brain finally started to catch up and he sped towards the end of the alley almost running.

 

He’d heard so much about the dangers of the city, and he couldn't exactly afford to live in the best area, but he never thought he'd actually be caught up in something like this. He slapped himself mentally; Yugyeom and Jackson were right. For such a smart guy, he could be pretty reckless sometimes; this was one of those times. Out of curiosity and against his better judgement, he took a final look back just in time to see the tall man grab the back of the other’s neck. The tall man’s face caught the light of a street lamp as he bit down on the burly man’s thick neck. Jinyoung froze, unable to comprehend what was happening in front of him. The shorter man’s mouth was open wide, but no screams were coming out. His pupils were blown wide and his face was frozen in something like shock or pain; Jinyoung couldn't tell. The shorter man grew thinner and thinner until he finally disappeared into dust. The remaining man wiped mouth on his sleeve and began to turn towards Jinyoung.

 

This time, Jinyoung didn't stop running until he got home. His cheeks went red from cold and exhaustion as he ignored the burning in his lungs. He wondered if he really just saw what he thought he saw. A million voices in his head screamed “no” and “there's no way” but his aching legs didn't let him stop moving until he was in front of his building. He unzipped his bag and shoved his hand inside fumbling around for his keys. His hands shook and he nearly dropped them on the ground; it took him multiple tries to get it inside the keyhole.

 

He completely bypassed the elevator, unwilling to wait, and he went up the stairs two steps at a time. Letting his apartment door slam shut, he took off his shoes immediately by force of habit. He stripped off his bag and jacket and let them fall to the floor, wanting nothing more than to hide under his bedsheets. Jinyoung convinced himself that he was probably just tired and he decided that tomorrow would definitely be a self care day. Maybe his all nighters and long shifts were finally catching up to him. Willing himself to forget what had happened, he brushed it off as his imagination. Even under his thick comforter, he shivered, but it wasn’t because of the cold. His heart rate began to even out as he drifted off to sleep, and at this point he was too drowsy and disoriented to see the pair of red eyes peering inside from the window.


	2. In a Haze

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna delete this fic bc I hate it but I'm so attached to this concept >:( but I started writing again tonight and I word vomited this chapter so I might as well post I guess. Also.. jjp has been attacking me lately like did y'all see that sleepover lieV.... Anyway I hope y'all enjoy this! I'm sorry for the cliffhangers sdfghjk I'm updating on wednesday though so dw. I don't have class on wednesdays so I'm gonna try to make it my update day pls bear with me :*

Jinyoung and Jaebum were at a standstill. Jinyoung would never admit it but honestly, his first encounter with Jaebum was still fresh in his mind despite it having happened days ago. To put it quite simply, the fact that Jinyoung even bothered to be bothered by Jaebum bothered him.

 

As per usual Jaebum had been the only person sitting in the lecture hall when Jinyoung walked in 15 minutes early. But rather than sitting a safe six seats away as a buffer against social interaction, Jinyoung skipped formalities and walked straight towards him. Even as Jinyoung stopped right in front of seat, looming over the other’s hunched form, Jaebum didn’t look up and went on with his nose practically swimming in his dog eared copy of  _ A Tale of Two Cities  _ that looked centuries old and moved even further into his usual corner. The advantage of level that Jinyoung had over him at that moment didn’t stop him from feeling anxious anyway, but Jinyoung swallowed the feeling down.

 

“Excuse me,” Jinyoung said hesitantly.

 

Finally, Jaebum took notice of his existence and looked up. He didn’t really know what he expected to happen when their eyes met for the first time, but it was  _ not  _ this. They were  a shade of brown so deep and speckled with hints of yellow that they almost looked like the glowing embers of a fire that could turn blazing red at any moment, and Jinyoung was willing to let himself be consumed. Jaebum on the other hand looked away as if he’d been burned the moment their eyes met, his gaze quickly returning to the pages of his book.

 

“Yes?” 

 

Jinyoung was just as unprepared for the first taste of the syrupy sound of his voice turned bittersweet somehow. Jaebum’s eyes flickered towards the door and his knuckles jutted out like a jagged cliffside at the way he gripped his book. Maybe that should’ve been Jinyoung’s cue to walk back to his usual seat and pretend none of this ever happened, but his feet stayed planted right where they were and he continued to speak, if not for Jaebum then at least for the sake of his sociology grade.

 

“Uh… Hey, my name is Jinyoung,” Way to start strong Jinyoung. “I’m not really familiar with  many people in this class and, you know, we kind of need partners for the final project.”

 

“Oh,” Jaebum said as if he’d been expecting Jinyoung to say something else entirely. Jaebum’s fingers loosened from their vice grip around the book and he leaned back into his seat almost slouching. “And?’

 

Jinyoung shifted his weight onto one leg and placed a hand on his hip, frustration beginning to creep its way into every nerve. Jaebum had only spoken a grand total of three words, yet this only served to make Jinyoung even more irked. Jaebum seemed to speak as if every word he uttered to him was a waste of breath, like he wasn’t of this world and had better things do than talk to a mere mortal like Park Jinyoung. 

 

Technically he could’ve left without looking back right then and there; he was by no means contractually obligated to even look Jaebum’s way, much less be his sociology partner. Sure, it would be annoying to find a partner when he didn’t know anyone else in the class, but he could’ve pulled it off. He didn’t even really know Jaebum and yet he was oddly determined to penetrate this fortress he was caged up in all the time. Being emotionally invested wasn’t a part of the equation at all; it was more like Jinyoung was way too hard headed to back down when he was already that deep in. Well, Jinyoung thought, I’m already standing here in front of him.

 

“Well, you don’t seem to know many people in this class.. or even this entire university for that matter, so would you like to be my partner?”

 

“I suppose,” Jaebum replied cooly despite Jinyoung’s passive aggression.

 

“You suppose?” 

 

“I suppose.”

 

Jinyoung furrowed his brows impossibly close together but ripped a page from his sketchbook anyway, scribbled his contact information onto it, and placed it on Jaebum’s desk. Conflicted was the only thing Jinyoung felt after he returned to his usual seat, unsure if he was better or worse off after finally speaking to Jaebum.

 

“I suppose,” Jinyoung whispered, mimicking Jaebum and rolling his eyes. 

 

_ Who the fuck talks like that? Does he have to try to be an ass or is it some pre-existing condition that he can’t help? _

 

It was like there was something off about Jaebum, not that Jinyoung could truly know that when he barely knew the guy, but he seemed tense. And the whole aloof routine that he kept up, or maybe it wasn’t a routine, Jinyoung wanted to shove his one word answers right back from where they came. Yet, jinyoung still found himself oddly drawn to him. 

 

Maybe he was overthinking things. Is he really being difficult or is he really just a man of few words? Did I expect too much? It figures someone who looked so god-like has to have some kind of fatal flaw. If so, then in Jaebum’s case the fatal flaw seems to be his… everything else.

 

When class ended, Jaebum didn’t do so much as acknowledge Jinyoung’s existence as he walked past him on the way out of the door. 

 

The next class didn’t go much differently, nor did the one after that, and within the span of a single week Jinyoung had already begun to regret talking to Jaebum at all. The little changes didn’t go over Jinyoung’s head. Jaebum used show up to class early, sitting in the corner with his current read before class. He’d hang off of every word that the professor spoke even if she’d been repeating herself for the past three classes, which seemed to be the case more often than not. Now he slinked into the seat closest to the door late half of the time and was out of the room before Jinyoung even had a chance to get out of his seat at the end of class. 

 

That wasn’t all. While Jaebum had never spared him a second glance before, it was becoming ironic how much Jinyoung caught the other man staring at him when Jaebum seemed so hellbent on ignoring him every chance he got. Sometimes a chill would creep up his spine, like his body instinctively knew it was being watched, and sure enough when Jinyoung turned around Jaebum would already be looking his way. Moreover, Jinyoung thought, don’t normal people usually look away when they’re caught staring? Jaebum  _ never _ did. Jinyoung always tried to narrow his eyes and keep his head locked, but Jaebum’s gaze was just so piercing. It almost hurt just to look at him for those few prolonged seconds. These awkward staring matches were their only interactions, if they should even be counted as such at all. Jinyoung waited for a text or an email, something to prove that he wasn’t hallucinating the image of Jaebum in class every day, but nothing ever came.

 

So there Jinyoung sat, staring at his test paper in hopes that it would spontaneously combust is he focused hard enough. Even though it was the day of the midterm, Jaebum was late as per his newly acquired habit. Jinyoung’s head snapped towards the door as it creaked open and Jaebum waltzed into as if class wasn’t already almost halfway through. The professor, as usual, didn’t bat an eye and just handed him a test paper. 

 

Part of Jinyoung wanted to get up in the middle of the midterm and ask what the fuck Jaebum’s problem was, but the rational albeit more passive aggressive part of him just glared at the side of his head as he sat in the farthest possible seat from Jinyoung. Jinyoung truly wondered why Jaebum even bothered to show up to class anymore when he obviously didn’t give a rat’s ass. Apparently, finishing the project wasn’t one of Jaebum’s priorities, and his chances of finishing the midterm were bleak considering it was unreasonably long despite the fact that their professor rarely said anything of value.

 

Even after completing his test, Jinyoung stayed put in his seat and thought for a moment. Jaebum wasn’t going to be done any time soon; for once Jaebum couldn’t speed out of class before Jinyoung could even shut his laptop. This could be his chance to finally corner the Jinyoung wouldn’t deny that it was a petty highschooler move, but he finally had a one up on Jaebum. He’d rather be Yugyeom’s indentured servant for an entire year than just sit around and wait for Jaebum to do nothing. 

 

Jinyoung gathered his belongings and snatched his paper off of his desk, finally making his way down the steps of the large hall. Professor Kang smiled at Jinyoung and said a quick farewell as he handed his paper in; she was a nice enough lady albeit a bit boring and her irritating habit of talking in extended, superfluous circles. They had somewhat of a relationship due to Jinyoung’s habit of visiting his professors’ office hours and greeting them when he came across them on campus.

 

Already halfway out of the room, he couldn’t help but take one last look at Jaebum before letting the door click behind him. Jaebum, of course, already had his eyes locked on Jinyoung, maybe even since the second he’d stepped away from his seat. Jinyoung almost let out an audible squeak as he let the door slip from his grip. No matter how many times he caught Jaebum staring, he’d never get used to the feeling of, unrefined as it may sound, ice cubes being shoved down his pants. It wasn’t a utterly terrible feeling, but it was unsettling and hazy. The ambiguity of it all, of Jaebum, was what really made Jinyoung squirm.

 

Jinyoung stayed leaned against the wall right outside of the door, squatting slightly with his hands on his on his knees trying to recompose himself. He didn’t care if Jaebum would be the last person to finish and every single student left the room before him, he’d stay planted right where he was until then. There was literally no way Jaebum would be able to avoid him this time. A slight breeze blew past Jinyoung, making every fiber of his being stand on edge, but looking around a few times Jinyoung saw that the remaining students had yet to leave.

 

One by one students exited the lecture hall and breathed their sighs of relief at finally having finished their midterms. Jinyoung grew more alert with each swing of the door, growing more and more on edge. Jaebum couldn’t be taking so long to finish his exam. Sure, he may have been slacking this past week, but he grabbed every one of Professor Kang’s redundant words in that class like they sustained his life force. Having waited enough, Jinyoung practically barged through the door with the burning fury of a man on a mission and scanned the entire perimeter of the lecture hall like a hawk.

 

It was empty save for Professor Kang.

 

“Jinyoung?” Professor Kang looked startled by his melodramatic entrance to say the least. “Did you forget something?”

 

Jinyoung searched the room one last time, already knowing that he wouldn’t see Jaebum. How could Jinyoung have missed him? He was sure that there weren’t any other exits, and Jinyoung had meticulously watched every single student leave without taking his eyes off of the door. How did he just… slip away?

 

“Did you happen to see Jaebum leave?” The instant Professor Kang heard the name Jinyoung could already see her racking her brain to remember one student out of hundreds of others that she didn’t know. “Never mind…” he said after barely a few seconds, walking out in a dazed state and barely remembering to say goodbye. All he was stuck with was less answers and even more questions.

 

\-----------

 

Jinyoung headed to the staff room as his shift came to a close hoping to leave as soon as possible. He’d rather just go home, brew some peppermint tea, and maybe watch  _ Pretty Woman _ for the thousandth time. But alas, there was no avoiding Jackson and Yugyeom inevitably calling to harass him as a part of their Friday night tradition. His phone rang just as he finished clocking out and gathering his coat and bag. Jinyoung held the phone away from his face as a precaution.

 

“So, Vernon’s parents are on a business trip overseas and he’s throwing a party!” Jackson practically screamed.

 

“Hey Jackson, how were your midterms. Yeah, I’ve missed you too!” Jinyoung overdid the sarcasm hoping it would reach Jackson over the phone.

 

“Jinyoungie please! You never know, Jaebum might be there.”

 

“I highly doubt that… and I do not wanna talk about him right now,” Jinyoung grimaces. 

 

Jinyoung had put Jackson and Yugyeom on all about Jaebum pretending that he didn’t exist and his little disappearing act. He’d gotten pretty creative with the amount of curses he could conjure about the man. Despite that fact, his friends still refused to stop teasing him.

 

“Midterms are over. You have no reason not to go.”

 

Jinyoung gave it some thought, despite Jackson’s skewed logic. He wasn’t usually one to enjoy parties but it might be a chance to blow off some steam. 

 

“Jinyoung?” Jackson asked when the line went quiet for too long.

 

“Well… Can I… borrow that one rider jacket you have?”

 

He could practically hear Jackson smiling through the phone. 

 

When Jinyoung got home Jackson and Yugyeom were already there at his apartment, most likely let in by the super that was already too familiar with Jinyoung’s friends. 

 

“So when are you guys gonna start paying rent?” 

 

“Shut up and get ready!” Yugyeom pulled him to his bedroom along with Jackson.

 

It had been awhile since he’d dressed up and went out like this; he never had enough time between school and work. He’d never been into the whole getting blackout drunk and waking up in a stranger’s bed every Saturday scene, but he was actually kind of excited. As a teenager in high school, life always had Jinyoung too preoccupied to go to have even a sip of soju or date. Once he was in college, Friday nights usually became reserved for blasting smooth indie rock or R&B and sketching on the couch, and he prefered it that way. Once in awhile though, he did like to feel like he was actually 21 years old. 

 

Yugyeom made his way around Jinyoung’s bedroom as if it were his own, knowing where everything was kept without giving it a second thought. He pulled out a simple white tank top and the tightest pair of jeans that Jinyoung owned.

 

“Those?” Jinyoung stared at the clothes reluctantly. 

 

“They’re your clothes, hyung,” Yugyeom argued as he threw the outfit right at Jinyoung’s face. 

 

“I keep those in the back of my closet for a reason,” Jinyoung groaned. So I’m a little prudish when it comes to my clothes Jinyoung thought. He didn’t really want to admit ‘I think my arms are a little wonky looking, I’m oddly pale, and I have thunder thighs’ out loud. He’d never hear the end of it from his friends.

 

“Give him a break Gyeomie, this outfit is a huge leap for someone who thinks wearing ankle pants is scandalous.”

 

Not even Jinyoung’s death glare was enough to stop Jackson and Yugyeom from bursting into laughter.

 

Jinyoung wriggled into the skin tight pair of black jeans, but he knew for a fact just how perky his butt looked in them, so it was worth the struggle. He drew the line when Yugyeom got way too close to his eye with what looked like a pencil. 

 

“What?” Yugyeom asked. “It’ll make you look sexier.”

 

“I would like to avoid becoming blind, Yugs, thank you very much. Where’d you even learn how to do that?”

 

“BamBam.”

 

Jinyoung mentally cursed the little twerp that Yugyeom had been hanging around. Of course, Jinyoung ended up wearing eyeliner anyway, because Yugyeom was a brat and his hyungs always ended up giving in. 

 

When Jinyoung looked at himself in the mirror before they all headed out, he was taken aback. He looked, dare he say, pretty- gorgeous even. His jeans left almost nothing to the imagination and the smudged eyeliner intensified his sinful gaze; Jackson’s rider jacket tied everything together. He blushed as Jackson and Yugyeom whistled and smacked his ass, dragging him out of his apartment before he had the chance to change his mind.

 

Jinyoung had never actually met Vernon, he was more Jackson’s friend than Jinyoung’s. His place was a lavish penthouse in Midtown that felt more like the inside of a mansion than a condo. Jinyoung’s own unit wasn’t even in the same league. The high ceilings and glass doors and windows that covered most of the walls showed off a view of the rest of the city give the place a sleek look. Furniture that looked more expensive than Jinyoung’s entire apartment had been pushed aside to give people room to dance, though some people still opted to stay on the couches feeling each other up or nursing what he assumed was alcohol in red solo cups. Vernon was one of those trust fund kids that didn’t have to feel guilty about skipping class despite paying 70,000 dollars a year in tuition, but if Jackson was friends with him he couldn’t be too bad. 

 

It was ten when they arrived and things had already picked up. The looming anxiety that midterms caused had dissipated and so had people's’ inhibitions. Jinyoung was pretty sure he could smell people getting crossfaded somewhere in the penthouse. The colored lights were dim, but he could faintly see the smoke lingering in the air. Most of the people there were strangers to Jinyoung, and it was so crowded and moist with sweat and hormones that he barely had room to breathe. Jaebum, as expected, was nowhere to be seen, but that didn’t stop Jinyoung from giving a second glance to every guy with slicked back jet black hair and pierced ears just to make sure that they weren’t him. 

 

Yugyeom had already disappeared among the crowd; most likely getting a head start on his drink count and hitting the dancefloor. The trap music and the people grinding to it weren’t exactly his forte and the bass was so loud he was sure the only reason no one in the building had called the cops was because Vernon’s parents themselves owned it. The only thing Jinyoung couldn’t seem to notice even if it punched him in the face were the eyes on his ass and the way people licked their lips at him like he was a delectable dish. Jackson on the other hand was completely aware of it and muttered something about letting go and getting some, but he couldn’t really hear him over the music. 

 

Before he knew it, Jackson had already spotted Mark and was headed for him, leaving Jinyoung all alone. There went his friends’ promise not to leave him stranded in the middle of the party; he’d be sure to be extra bitter about it later. Maybe earlier Jinyoung had hoped to find a cute guy or girl and hit it off, but now he wasn’t feeling nearly as brave, already feeling suffocated. Still, he might as well give this a chance, so he headed to the kitchen and grabbed the first unopened bottle of whatever that he could find on the counter hoping that a drink would help him loosen up.

 

It was a clear bottle that could’ve passed for water if he didn’t know any better, but the smell of what might as well have been rubbing alcohol invading his senses and the burning his sinuses definitely told him otherwise. He’d never been much of a drinker, but he downed a good half of the bottle anyway. Jinyoung set the bottle back down a little too hard and the sound of the glass clinking against the overpriced granite countertop rang in his ears. It was almost embarrassing how much of a lightweight Jinyoung was. He’d only ever had an occasional sip of champagne at exhibit openings, and whatever he just drank was definitely not champagne. He was surprised he even managed to hold that much alcohol down in one go. Well, maybe he was speaking too soon. An inkling of the feeling of warmth started to creep up from his stomach.

 

Jinyoung stumbled back a little and gripped the edge of the counter for support, but instead he found strong hands gripping his hips and a broad chest pressing into his back. Jinyoung snapped his head back to look at guy that may or may not have attended university with him. 

 

“Are you ok?”

 

Jinyoung couldn’t come up with an answer with his hands still on his hips, and he honestly wasn’t sure whether the flush in his cheeks was because of the alcohol or the cute guy. Jinyoung grew more and more red by the second as the guy continued to look at him expectantly for a reply.

 

“Listen, you don’t look too good. Did you come here with anyone?” he asked when Jinyoung continued to remain silent.

 

The guy had an unmistakable case of elevator eyes; Jinyoung might be inexperienced but he knew what flirting looked like. Jinyoung weighed his options: the guy’s grip had Jinyoung melting under his touch, he had no work the next day, and the farthest he’d ever gone was giving a girl a peck on the lips in the schoolyard in the 6th grade. Technically that didn’t even really count. He was 21. Maybe it was time to get out of his comfort zone a little bit. 

 

“No! I’m fine thanks,” Jinyoung finally managed to blurt out. “And actually, I came here alone tonight.” He made sure to add that last part to make things between them crystal clear.

 

“In that case, my name is Shownu.”

 

“Jinyoung.” He took a small step back from Shownu, his skin suddenly feeling too hot under the leather of Jackson’s jacket. 

 

“Sorry,” Shownu apologized and finally withdrew his hands from Jinyoung’s hips. Jinyoung honestly couldn’t say that he doesn’t miss them a little bit.

 

“D- don’t be.” 

 

Jinyoung was winging it big time. He had no idea what he was doing and he focused all his energy on trying not to let the fragile mask of calm collection that he had on crack.  Jinyoung’s heart raced trying to catch up to the speed his thoughts were flying through his mind.

 

“Do you wanna dance?” 

 

By dancing, Jinyoung was pretty sure that Shownu meant getting as close to completely ravishing each other as they could in the middle of a crowd. It was crazy and it crossed so many boundaries that Jinyoung had never even thought of approaching before, but maybe it was the alcohol that made him say yes. He let Shownu take hold of his hand and drag him onto the makeshift dance floor. 

 

Jinyoung tried to relax as best as he could, loosening up his limbs and letting his hips sway. It was so much harder to let go with other people around. When he was alone with Yugyeom, he didn’t give a single fuck. They’d blast girl’s generation and dance along in perfect synchronization or trap ironically (or not so ironically) to Kendrick Lamar. His limbs just didn’t seem to cooperating and his eyes shifted across the room, unable to focus on the very attractive  guy in front of him that had taken an interest in him for whatever reason. At one point Jinyoung thought that he actually did see Jaebum across the room, that it wasn’t his mind playing tricks on him, but whoever it was disappeared in a flash. Jinyoung only got even more stiff at the thought of Jaebum. 

 

“Don’t be nervous. It’s ok, just follow my lead” Shownu flashed the most charming smile he could muster and rolled his body to the beat.

 

‘Don’t be nervous’ Jinyoung rolled his eyes. That was easier said than done.

 

“I go to lots of parties, but I’ve never had the pleasure of running into you at one.” 

 

Jinyoung would’ve found the boyish, lopsided grin on Shownu’s face cute if not for the irrevocable fact that the end game of flirting at parties like this was usually to get into someone’s pants, leave their place before they woke up, and never seeing them again. That was anything but endearing. Although he had no qualms about others going about this practice, it was crude and raw in a way Jinyoung himself couldn’t stomach properly.

 

“Yeah, this isn’t my usual scene. My friends basically had to drag me here.” Jinyoung’s drunken self even let a giggle out.

 

Shownu chuckled at his antics. “You should come around more often, a cute little thing like you.”

 

A little thing like him? Jinyoung furrowed his brows a bit, his own thoughts and feelings unclear to him. The flashing lights and pounding music inhibited Jinyoung’s senses until the only thing he could process was  every touch and graze of Shownu’s fingers along his clothed skin. Shownu pulled Jinyoung’s back flush against his own chest and snaked his hand up his thigh moving dangerously close to previously unexplored territory. Red alarms went up in Jinyoung’s mind at the foreign feeling and Jinyoung couldn’t even tell if the churning feeling in his stomach was just butterflies or if he was about to puke up the excuse of a meal that had been his lunch. 

 

Shownu’s hand was steadily inching its way in between Jinyoung’s legs slowly but surely, Jinyoung’s heart starting to beat faster and faster like it was counting down the moments until he would explode. 

 

What am I actually doing here? When have I ever enjoyed parties or even alcohol? 

Jackson and Yugyeom can barely get him to take a shot of fruit flavored soju on their nights in together. 

 

Jinyoung felt the answer coming up his throat more so than consciously making a decision. Tearing himself from Shownu’s grip, he ignored protests and calls of his name that grew more and more distant. Jinyoung searched for the nearest bathroom, which was more arduous than it sounded like considering Jinyoung couldn’t even tell up from down or left from right. After a long, harrowing journey Jinyoung somehow found himself stumbling on pristine ceramic tiles that probably looked better than he did at the moment. He spilled his guts into the toilet the second his knees hit the floor, his fingertips going white from how hard he was gripping the edge of the toilet seat. All of the ridiculously expensive liquor he consumed made it’s way back out of Jinyoung’s body as well as all the trouble it had caused.

 

The world’s spinning came to a halt and the blur in his vision receded; suddenly everything was blindingly clear. The bathroom lights made Jinyoung blink profusely and everything was so shiny, the toilet seat, all of the gold plated amenities, his own ghastly reflection in the mirror. Jinyoung cleaned himself up as much as he could, washing his hands and splashing some cold water on his face. His eyeliner on the other hand was a lost cause and a dead giveaway to how much of a wreck he truly was.

 

Jinyoung didn’t waste any more time catching his breath or pulling himself together. At this point, all he wanted was to get home as soon as possible. Jinyoung thought about the only other party he’d gone to, back when he was a budding freshman, not really trusting himself to get himself home in one piece. That alone should’ve been enough to stop Jinyoung from tagging along a second time, but he could beat himself up for his own stupidity later on when when he was no longer in danger of completely fucking up his entire life. Jinyoung went to work looking for his friends, cursing these damn rich kids and their excessive amount of rooms. It was a condominium; how many rooms could there possibly be? He could only hope that he wouldn’t walk in on something or  _ someone _ that could potentially scar him for life.

 

As expected all he found was absolute sin, but Jinyoung decided to look into one more room before calling it quits and going home. He’d puked out most of the alcohol that he consumed anyway, or so he chose to rationalize. Jinyoung took a deep breath and prepared himself to shield his oh-so-innocent eyes from whatever was behind that door. 

 

The door creaked as Jinyoung tentatively opened it, the abrasive sound paired with the sudden chill he felt making him cringe. Nothing he did could’ve possibly prepared him for what he saw. 

 

His thoughts came in fragments, unable -unwilling- to piece everything together. 

 

Jaebum. 

 

Random drunk girl underneath him. 

 

Fangs.

 

Blood.

 

The color drained from Jinyoung’s face as if he were the one being sucked dry by whatever the hell Jaebum was. He slowly started to register that  _ it _ was definitely not human. In an instant Jaebum was off of her and already pinning Jinyoung against the door, their faces mere inches apart. Jinyoung could feel his cold breath against his cheeks. His irises were consumed by the color of rose petals and his pupils were dilated to the size of the moon. He looked completely feral, fangs hanging out and drool threatening to drip from his mouth.

 

"I let you go the first time, but you just can't seem to stay out of my damn way," Jaebum nearly growled at him.

Before a scream could escape Jinyoung's throat Jaebum was already sinking his teeth into the side of his neck. All he could feel was a distant stinging sensation as the world faded to black.


	3. In Over My Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with another chapter... 2 updates within a week woahhh. I'm ded inside I started this on wednesday night and it is now 4:45 AM I love procrastination. Enjoy!

Jinyoung woke up early despite the fact that he couldn’t even remember how or what time he’d gotten home yesterday. He actually felt well rested, albeit a bit off due to having yet another one of his weird dreams. He stretched as he sat up in bed and humming softly as the tension left his muscles. Miraculously, he wasn’t even the slightest bit hungover. Usually, a single drink was enough to make him a little nauseous in the morning. Yugyeom could hold his liquor better than him, a fact that their friends never seem let go. 

 

He supposed that in his rush to get to bed, he’d fallen asleep in yesterday’s clothes. He slipped out of them, placed them in the hamper, and grabbed a fresh t-shirt and pair of form fitting black boxers that hugged his curves perfectly. Stepping out into the main space of his apartment, he rubbed his eyes trying to get rid of any lingering drowsiness. Somehow, he was able to find a one bedroom place for a pretty good price; in this city he would've been lucky to find a closet to rent for thousands of dollars a month. 

 

It was pretty empty with a couch he picked up from the sidewalk outside his building and a small TV in front of it. Jinyoung’s kitchen consisted of a single corner of his apartment with a table next to it. There were fours chairs pushed into it, though only one of them were ever used as Jackson and Yugyeom had made a habit of eating on his couch, leaving Jinyoung to find a lifetime supply crumbs in between the cushions no matter how much he cleaned. The apartment was predominantly made up of  negative space, but Jinyoung prefered to call it “minimalistic” rather than admitting that he didn’t have the time or money to decorate. 

 

Jinyoung grabbed a bowl and immediately went for the cheerios. His t-shirt rose and revealed a sliver of smooth skin as he struggled to reach the top shelf of the kitchen cabinets on his tiptoes. He cursed Yugyeom’s height mentally; he always did this. Jinyoung has no doubt that the tall boy had put the box there on purpose just to inconvenience him and he made a mental note to smack him upside the head the next time they saw each other. He turned away for a moment to grab a chair to step on. Nothing could have prepared Jinyoung for what, or more accurately, who he saw when he turned back.

 

“Morning,” Jaebum said casually, holding the box out for him and shaking it in offering. 

 

The bowl slipped from Jinyoung’s fingers, his hands instinctively reaching for his neck. The sound glass shattering never reach Jinyoung’s ear however. Jaebum grabbed it, lightning fast, and was standing in front of him way too close for comfort within a second.

 

“Careful, darling” Jaebum whispered in his ear and handed the bowl back to him although his fingers were almost shaking too hard to hold anything properly.

 

Jinyoung was frozen, dumbstruck for a fleeting second before starting to process everything. It wasn’t a dream. He knew that it had felt way too real and yet Jinyoung wanted to believe that it hadn’t actually happened.

 

Jaebum wasn’t human.

 

Jinyoung’s heart stopped beating and his blood ran cold as he began to understand exactly who or  _ what  _ was in front of him. Prior to that moment, he wasn’t even sure that what had happened was real. The face bashed in beyond recognition, how he had disintegrated into thin air as Jaebum bit down on his neck, Jinyoung himself being bitten- it was all irrevocably real. 

 

Jinyoung panicked- and he happened to do stupid, impulsive things when he started panicking. In a split second decision he brought the bowl down hard on the side of the Jaebum’s face and it shattered into a million tiny pieces against his cheek. 

 

Jaebum had shut his eyes reflexively when Jinyoung swung at him, but he remained unmoved. Jinyoung’s eyes widened even further, if it was even possible. Jaebum hadn’t flinched even a fraction of an inch; there was no blood or even any trace of redness on his face. In fact, Jinyoung was the one who ended up hurt by his own blow. 

 

His hand shook, still holding on to a shattered piece of the bowl as blood seeped from a gash on his palm. They stared each other down for what felt like hours. Jinyoung couldn't tear his gaze away from Jaebum’s eyes, and when they flickered back and forth from a rusted brown color reminiscent of dry blood to a deep crimson color, he had to resist the urge to move closer rather than backing away like any sane person would be doing in this situation. They were absolutely mesmerizing and something about them was so familiar.

 

Suddenly Jaebum grabbed Jinyoung’s wrist. 

 

“Don't make this more difficult than it has to be,” he raised his voice for the first time as his eyes went completely blood red. 

 

He brought Jinyoung's palm to his mouth and licked the entire length of the gash. Jinyoung winced and tried to pull his hand away, but slowly his brows unknitted and his lips opened the slightest bit as the wound closed right before his very eyes. The grip on his wrist gradually loosened, and Jinyoung traced the smooth skin of his palm under his fingertips right where the gash had been only a few moments ago.

 

“I will not hurt you, human, so now that we’ve gotten that over with, let’s talk about last night.” 

 

Did Jaebum really just expect him to calm down just like that? There were so many questions bouncing around in Jinyoung’s skull like atoms. There was too much information and not enough processing power; Jinyoung really just wanted to shut down. 

 

“All I wanted was a fucking sociology partner…” Jinyoung mumbles under his breath. “How the FUCK did you even manage to leave the party with me and get in here?” he grew steadily louder as he spoke.

 

“I jumped” Jaebum said matter of factly as if Jinyoung had asked what color the sky was. “Humans are truly peculiar… Is that really the first thought on your mind at a moment like this?”

 

“Human… So if you really aren’t human, then what the hell are you?”  Jinyoung studied his face for a moment. He didn't look odd in any way, other than being considerably more attractive than the average person, but he couldn't be human after everything that happened.

 

“You needn’t know, it’s none of your business anyhow. I suggest you forget about what transpired and continue to go about your ordinary existence.”

 

It was more of a demand than a suggestion, and there was a hint of a threat in his words, but Jinyoung couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

 

“None of my business?” Jinyoung gritted through his teeth. “None of my business?” he yelled this time. “You’re in MY apartment. You attacked ME last night. You… drank MY blood. Jesus christ- I go to school with you! We’re sociology partners! How is any of this not my business?”

 

Jaebum remained silent for a moment.

 

“Would it really ease your mind to know?” He raises a brow.

 

Jinyoung looks up and tilts his head in thought for show. “Kinda, yeah.”

 

Jaebum chuckled before answering. “Well then, I’m what most humans refer to as ‘vampires’”

 

Jinyoung wanted to laugh or scoff, anything to break the moment of silence, but the Jaebum’s voice hadn’t wavered at all. He sounded too serious, his tone too smooth for him to be pulling Jinyoung’s leg. He waited for the punchline, but it remained silent.

 

“Yeah, and my gay ass shits rainbows!” Jinyoung suddenly broke out into laughter that shook his entire body, part of him still hoping that it was all an extremely elaborate practical joke. Jaebum rolled his eyes and waited. Jinyoung didn’t know how long he laughed for, but when he was done he leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms absolutely winded.

 

“Believe what you want, but you know what you saw, and it would be best not to mention it to anyone.” Jaebum moved in on him, forcing him further against the counter.  Despite their minuscule height difference, Jinyoung still felt small meeting his gaze. Jinyoung gulped at both the threat and how the other man was so close to him that he could feel his cold breath on his cheek. 

 

Jinyoung side shuffled out of where he was pushed up against the counter before taking a deep breath and speaking. “So the night… that was you? You sucked that guy’s blood? You sucked him dry and he just disappeared?” Jinyoung stared at him and waited for an answer. There were so many questions Jinyoung wanted to ask that his mouth couldn't keep up with his mind. He slumped down to the floor and rubbed his temples, he must have been going crazy. There was no such thing as vampires, they were characters in books he'd read. They couldn't be real. 

 

“More or less,” Jaebum said bluntly and started walking to the window. 

 

“Jaebum!” Jinyoung called after him almost begging. He couldn’t be leaving already, Jinyoung’s mind was still whirling and next to none of his questions had been answered.

 

He stopped and looked back at Jinyoung for a moment, his straight face not faltering.

 

“Forget about it. Just be sure to keep your enormous mouth shut.” 

 

He pushed the curtains aside and jumped out onto the fire escape. Jinyoung stayed still for a moment before hesitantly moving the curtains aside and sticking his head out of the window. He looked down at the entire length of the fire escape and then up and down his street. Jaebum was nowhere to be seen and Jinyoung marveled at how he’d gone so quickly. He slammed the window shut and double checked that he’d locked it before he started to pace back and forth so fast he might have gotten whiplash. 

 

When he took his phone out, his hands refused to stop shaking as he dialed the number to the nearest precinct. The second he heard someone pick up, Jinyoung started to word vomit.

 

“I don't know what to do, oh my god, he bit me- and this other guy h- he just disappeared into thin air and then I-”Jinyoung trails off and cuts off his run-on sentence, moving the phone away from his face he stared at it in his limp hands. He could still faintly hear someone talking on the other end when he suddenly smashed the end call button. Did he really just almost tell the NYPD that there was a vampire, his sociology partner no less, on a rampage in the city? 

 

If there was a god, Jinyoung hoped she’d take pity on him that day and the authorities wouldn't barge into his home looking for some lunatic, and he wasn’t not talking about the Jaebum. Jinyoung cradled his face in his hands wondering if maybe he was the real danger to society, he must have been if he was going this insane. 

 

Jinyoung crashed on the couch and stared into the ceiling, turning the TV on just so the noise could drown out his thoughts. He still couldn’t wrap his head around what just happened. Was it even real? Please just let it all be a dream. 

 

Jinyoung stopped at that thought. No wonder the red eyes had looked so familiar; they were just like the ones from his dreams. He hadn’t thought much of the fact that he’d been having them more and more often these days. Suddenly, he regretted not taking it more seriously.  

 

“Fuck!” Jinyoung yelled at himself. What normal person has the same creepy dream for four years? And personally, he thought he woke up with morning wood far too often for a 21 year old; he was not 13 anymore. Yugyeom tried to get him to see a therapist for the longest time, but Jinyoung refused, pulling the age card on Yugyeom once again and saying that he knew better. Yugyeom would never let him live it down if he found out about how far off the rails Jinyoung’s mind was going right then

. 

Three loud bangs sounded on the front door and Jinyoung nearly jumped out of his seat; he was still a bit jittery. Jinyoung looked through the peephole just to be sure and felt conflicted at the sight of Jackson and Yugyeom. He was a complete and utter mess at the moment. He didn’t want them to realize that something was off. They were probably hungover too, and he wasn’t really sure if he could deal with that. 

 

Ultimately, Jinyoung would prefer anything over being scared and alone right then, so he didn’t have much of a choice. Jinyoung hesitated as he opened the door hoping Yugyeom and Jackson might take his mind off of things. The second he turned the deadlock and slid the chain lock open, they barged through the door. 

 

“Jinyoungie!” Jackson yelled and hugged him.

 

Jinyoung was still startled to say the least, but he quickly recovered and tried to reply with his usual snark. 

 

“It is way too early for someone as hungover as you probably are to be this cheery…” Jinyoung peeled Jackson off of him, trying to slip out of his hold.

 

“Nothing is gonna ruin his mood now or ever,” Yugyeom piped in and smiled knowingly. Something must have happened at the party last night.

 

“And Hyung!” Yugyeom exclaimed and gave him a congratulatory pat on the butt. “I totally thought you were still a virgin!”

 

“What are you talking about?” Jinyoung was simultaneously confused and offended (regardless of the fact that it was true).

 

“Your hickey, It’s ginormous…” Extra emphasis on the word “ginormous.”

 

Jinyoung’s eyes widened as he turned to a mirror. Right there, exactly where Jaebum had bitten him just last night, was bruise the color of dusk blooming all over the side of his neck.

 

“Fucking hell, Jaebum.”

 

\-----------

 

After a whole weekend of religiously checking his pulse and examining his mouth for fangs every five seconds, Jinyoung concluded that he had not been turned into a vampire. Great. That was one less thing on his plate that he had to worry about. An even more pressing matter than being undead however, was how Jinyoung was going to face Jaebum in the real world now that secrets were out on the table.

 

There was a whole two months left of the semester and there was no chance in hell that Jinyoung was dropping this class. Nothing ever really prepares you for when your classmate ends up being a vampire. It felt ridiculous to even think about this as his reality. Asking for help was out of the question. His options had been reduced to befriending a monster or possibly being institutionalized, so the pickings were pretty slim.

 

When he walked into the lecture hall, he was surprised to find that Jaebum was actually there on time after weeks. He guessed Jaebum didn’t have to try so hard to avoid him anymore now that the cat was out of the bag. Jinyoung pulled his infinity scarf a little tighter to his neck.  

 

“Today I’m giving you all this class time to work on your final project. I don’t want anyone leaving this for the last minute. I expect to see progress throughout the weeks.” Professor Kang continued to elaborate on the project, but all Jinyoung could think about what the amount of time he’d have to spend with Jaebum. 

 

On the other hand, maybe he wouldn’t have to. They were just classmates; it wasn’t as if they had to become best friends till death do them part. They could work on their portions of the  project separately and just put it all together at the end. Vampires owned laptops, right? 

 

Jaebum was the one to move to where Jinyoung was sitting.  _ Wow, he’s actually making an effort to work with me.  _ Maybe last week Jinyoung would have appreciated the guy acknowledging his existence, but now he just wanted to disappear. 

 

“Human,” Jaebum greeted with his snarky voice and lopsided grin.

 

“I have a name you know,” Jinyoung rolled his eyes. 

 

“Anyway, human, it seems we’re somewhat stuck together for the time being. I won’t be needing your assistance, however, I am able to complete this assignment on my own.” His trademark smirk was plastered lazily on his face.

 

Jinyoung almost agreed. Jinyoung wanted to agree. This way he wouldn’t have had to deal with Jaebum and all of his supernatural, and not to mention criminal, insanity. Maybe he should, but seeing that shit eating grin on his face lit a fire under him. He didn’t even care if Jaebum was trying to get a rise out of him, his pride wouldn’t allow him to cop out like that.

 

“It’s a group project,” Jinyoung asserted. “That’s not how it works. I can pull my own weight thank you very much.”

 

“Well,” Jaebum looked at Jinyoung like a hunter looks at its prey. “I suppose I’ll be seeing you outside of this classroom then.”

 

Jinyoung didn’t even bother to hide the look of dread on his face. Jaebum had played him, and they both knew it. How Jinyoung longed for the days when Jaebum wouldn’t spare him a second glance. It seemed as if his attention had fixated on Jinyoung for no apparent reason. Was it his blood? Did he just taste that good? Jinyoung tried his best to keep himself out of trouble, he was reluctant to even go to parties, and yet he’d ended up in the same place. Trouble.

 

“I guess so,” Jinyoung reluctantly agreed. “Um, is there any topic you’d like to focus on for our presentation?”

 

Jaebum stayed silent but continued to study his face intently.

 

“Ok…” Jinyoung sighed. “I thought that the last lecture was kind of interesting, you know, the bit about the effect of increased security measures in inner city school on students.”

 

Jinyoung continued to do most of the talking for the remainder of their class, Jaebum only speaking to tell him when he was free to work on the project. He hated feeling so imbalanced, doing all the talking as Jaebum sat and scrutinized him. He hated that Jaebum seemed so intent on imposing on his life, yet wouldn’t answer any of his questions. Being around him was draining, but what Jinyoung hated the most was that after all of that he still couldn’t bring himself to let go. If he really wanted to, he could disband this partnership and they could each join new groups, but he wouldn’t.

 

When class was finally dismissed, Jinyoung couldn’t pack up quickly enough. Without saying goodbye to his partner, Jinyoung left. Jinyoung sped through the halls of the campus dying to get home already, but unable to shake off the oh so familiar feeling of eyes on the back of his school, he looked back. Sure enough, Jaebum was still there a few paces behind him.

 

Refusing Jaebum’s offer might have been the worst mistake he’d ever made in his entire life. 

 

“Why are you still here?” Jinyoung snapped as he stopped in his tracks. 

 

“To be completely honest, I’m bored. I don’t have much else to do and it’s been quite a while since I’ve had the company of a human.”

 

“Find another human to harass.” Jinyoung started walking even faster, but suddenly Jaebum was walk backwards in front of him.

 

“Too much work.”

 

“Fine,” Jinyoung said cooly. “But if you think I’m going to entertain you, you’re mistaken.”

 

“Oh you’re already entertaining enough as is,” Jaebum smirked and moved to walk beside him.

 

Jaebum persisted to follow Jinyoung up until they arrived at his apartment at which Jinyoung turned and asked, "What is it gonna take to get rid of you? Do I have to hang garlic up? pour salt at my door? And how did you walk out in the sun like that?"

 

Jaebum looked at him as if he'd gone mad. "Are humans still that simple minded? Those are all silly rituals you've fabricated to create the illusion of control.

 

"Great, so I'm stuck with you" Jinyoung mumbled under his breath. Jaebum seemed to have heard him anyway and chuckled. 

 

Once inside, Jinoung started a pot of tea and took his laptop out. Jaebum was already there, they may as well get some work done. Jaebum snooped around the space, exploring Jinyoung's bookshelf and the corner where Jinyoung had set up his easel. 

 

"You're a big fan of Murakami?" Jaebum asked as he picked up a copy of  _ Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. " _ I've been getting around to reading him."

 

It was almost refreshing to hear Jaebum speak whole sentences that weren't just insults at the human race. "He's my favorite author. Personally, I think  _ Kafka on the Shore _ is his best work," Jinyoung found himself replying to Jaebum despite saying that he wouldn't entertain him earlier.

 

"And you're an art major?"

 

"Painting." Jinyoung brought two mugs to his coffee table and furrowed himself into a couch corner. Jaebum walked over to him, situating himself on the other end of the small couch. "Why are you so interested?" Jinyoung had enough of Jaebum intruding when he himself refused to give any answers. There was a practically a complete stranger sitting on his living room couch.

 

"I'm not," Jaebum scoffed at him.

 

"But the other night… Why did you come for me when you were already attacking that girl?”

 

Jaebum only stared in response and inspected the mug of green tea that Jinyoung had brought out for him.

 

“Give me your arm,” Jaebum demanded.

 

Jinyoung narrowed his eyes at him. “No. Not unless you answer my questions.”

 

Jaebum rolled his eyes. “First of all, I didn’t attack her. It was completely consensual. I’m a vampire, not a barbarian. There are plenty of women out there who would gladly allow me to feed on them in return for generous compensation. Jewelry, a pretty dress… And it’s not like they can tell anyone about me either way.” Jaebum stopped and thought for a moment. “As for you… You just happened to be there at the moment and you are  _ much _ more appealing than that addict.”

 

Jinyoung quickly brought his mug to his face and took a sip of tea to cover up the deep blush that was probably consuming his cheeks. 

 

"You are absolutely irresistible... Now, do not take that the wrong way. It's not as if you're exceptionally good looking; I don't want your little human head swelling up on me. It's your scent that I find intoxicating..." Jaebum took a deep breath and licked his lips. "Your blood has the robust aroma of a young man that has lived in a bubble for his entire life."

For a moment Jinyoung couldn't even feel offended. He was blushing too hard to even begin to sense the anger bubbling up in his stomach and just waiting to erupt. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Jinyoung snapped.

“If I’m not mistaken, you don’t drink alcohol regularly, you don’t smoke or do drugs, and you’re a virgin. Or at least no one has had you recently.” The fact that Jaebum said this all matter of factly with a straight face irritated him even more. “You’re young and healthy, like a ripe peach. Your blood is pure.”

“You like me because I’m sheltered?” The blush was finally receding from his face and being replaced with outrage.

“No, I like your blood.” Jaebum waited.

Jinyoung didn’t know how to respond but held his arm out tentatively. Jaebum grabbed his wrist and held it over his mug, scratching it and letting a few drops of blood fall.

 

“What the-” Jinyoung protested as the other man licked his wound shut.

 

“Thank you.”

 

Wow. An entire thank you from Im Jaebum himself.

 

“What about that guy? The one that disintegrated?”

 

Jaebum said nothing and continued to drink his tea. It seemed he was done answering questions. Jinyoung sighed. At least they had gotten somewhere. Jinyoung turned away to pick up his laptop, but when he turned back Jaebum had already gone.

 

I guess he got bored.

 

After he was sure Jaebum had gone, Jinyoung eyed the mug he’d offered and picked it up. He sniffed it curiously and against his better judgement took a sip. Jinyoung gagged, feeling as if he had a mouthful of quarters. Jaebum really was one weird guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JJP are finally interacting and I'm LIVING. Chapter 4 will be out next wednesday (which will probably turn into thursday).
> 
> ps murakami is actually my favorite author and I really recommend him to y'all avid readers <3 JJP has actually read some of his work too i lov my fave bookworms


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